The purple frog, also known as pignose frog, was first discovered in October 2003 in the Idukki district of Kerala by S.D. Biju from the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute in Palode, India and Franky Bossuyt from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels). It is endemic to the Western Ghats in India and was not noticed until recently as it remains underground most of the year except for 2-3 weeks during the monsoon when it comes out to mate
